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Habitat for Humanity Idaho Falls Area

Vision: A world where everyone has a decent place to live.

Mission: Seeking to put God’s love into action, Habitat for Humanity brings people together to build homes, communities and hope.

A little about us:
Incorporated in 1994, Habitat for Humanity Idaho Falls Area is a nonprofit, Christian housing ministry seeking to eliminate poverty housing in the community and to make simple, decent shelter a matter of conscience and action. With the help of Habitat partner families, individual volunteers and volunteer groups from area churches, businesses, civic organization and schools, Habitat for Humanity Idaho Falls Area has built 26 new construction homes throughout the Idaho Falls area.

The cost of purchasing and owning a Habitat home is kept low through the use of volunteer labor during the construction process, no-interest mortgage payments and building to Energy Star standards. The typical new construction Habitat home has 1000-1060 square feet of finished living space which includes 2-3 bedrooms and 1 bath. To maximize the affordability to purchase a Habitat home there is no profit included in the sale of the house and no interest charged on Habitat mortgages. Additionally, by incorporating low maintenance building practices and building to Energy Star standards, the ongoing cost of homeownership is also reduced for Habitat families.

Habitat for Humanity Idaho Falls Area serves low income families earning between 25% and 50% of the median income. The family selection process is activated as needed two to three times a year. It is the family selection committee’s responsibility to review and choose families based on their need, their willingness to become partners in the program and their ability to repay the no-interest mortgage. The Habitat homeownership program is open to all people, regardless of race, color, sex, creed, familial status, disability or national origin.

In 2010 Habitat for Humanity Idaho Falls Area board of directors set a goal to increase the affiliate’s capacity to build new construction homes from one a year to a minimum of four a year by 2014. With the aid of a capacity building grant and the dedicated effort by the board, staff and volunteers the affiliate is well on their way to meeting and possibly exceeding this goal.

Early in 2012, Habitat for Humanity Idaho Falls was notified that our affiliate would be the recipients of 20% of the Kurt and Genola Kandler Trust Funds. This funding, anticipated to be in excess of one million dollars, is being directed to be used for the benefit of the residents of Fremont, Madison, Jefferson and Teton counties in Idaho. Because building new construction homes would not necessarily meet the housing needs of these communities, Habitat Idaho Falls has embraced Habitat for Humanity International’s neighborhood revitalization initiative. Habitat’s NRI goal is to offer an expanded array of housing products enabling our affiliate to serve the housing needs of additional families throughout our expanded five county service area.

Funding for Habitat for Humanity Idaho Falls Area projects comes from multiple sources:
1. Partner families' mortgage payments are deposited into a fund to support the building of additional houses.
2. ReStore profits are used to cover 100% of our affiliate's operational expenses.
3. Sponsorships to cover the material costs of building homes come from public and private agencies.
4. Grants from non-profit, government and corporate sponsors supplement Habitat's sponsorship and internal funding streams.
5. The Genola and Kurt Kandler Trust Funds are being used to expand our service area into the Upper Snake River Valley.
6. In-kind donations of materials and professional labor significantly reduce the hard costs of Habitat projects

Habitat Idaho Falls Area is a locally run affiliate of Habitat for Humanity International®, a nonprofit, ecumenical Christian housing organization. We are a volunteer-based affiliate and invite people of all backgrounds, races and religions to build homes together in partnership with families in need. We rely on and are grateful for the committed long term support of the Idaho Falls community.